Experimental Phonetics

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

The aim of the course is to consolidate and broaden theoretical knowledge in general phonetics and phonology (with a focus on the English language) and to develop practical skills in the field of analysis and description of segmental and suprasegmental features of speech. The course will provide students with hands-on experience in methods of experimental phonetic research, including audio recording, interpretation of speech signal visualizations in the frequency and amplitude domains, measurement/extraction of selected features (e.g. vowel formants, pitch, duration) and methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of selected aspects of spoken utterances. Not only linguistic, but also paralinguistic (e.g. emotional state of the speaker) and non-linguistic (e.g. speaking rate) features of speech will be taken into account. Additionally, the course will offer training in documenting experimental results for further publication.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Proficiency in English (at least B1 level).

Syllabus

 

1. Phonetics as a scientific study of speech: objectives, methods and applications.

 

1. Description of articulatory and acoustic features of vowels and consonants.

 

1. Initiation of speech, airstream mechanisms and phonation types.

 

1. Speech production and perception.

 

1. Introduction to speech analysis tools.

 

1. Visual representation of speech sounds: spectrograms and oscillograms.

 

1. Segmentation (phonetic alignment) of continuous speech using audio and visual (spectrographic) representation.

 

1. Acoustic measurements of distinctive features of speech segments.

 

1. Measurements of suprasegmental features.

 

1. Phonetic experiment: Formulating experimental hypotheses. Creation/selection of recording scenarios and realization of recordings. Annotation of speech recordings for use in the phonetic experiment. Extraction of speech parameters and creation of a database. Testing experimental hypotheses. Presentation of the experimental results and the final report.

 

Reading list

Ashby, M and Maidment, J. (2005) Introducing Phonetic Science. Cambridge University Press

Bachan, J. (2022) A set of tools for extraction and manipulation of speech fundamental frequency. In: Zygmunt Vetulani, Patrick Paroubek, Marek Kubis (eds.) Human Language Technology. Challenges for Computer Science and Linguistics LTC 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), LNAI, volume 13212. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05328-3_1, pp 3–15

Demenko, G. (ed.) (2020) Phonetic Convergence in Spoken Dialogues in View of Speech Technology Applications. Akademicka Oficyna Wydawnicza Exit, ISBN 978-83-7837-093-2

Clark, J. and Yallop, C. (1995) An introduction to phonetics and phonology. 2nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell

Ladefoged, P. (1962) Elements of acoustic phonetics. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and London

Ladefoged, P. (2001) Vowels and Consonants. An introduction to the sounds of languages. Blackwell Publishers

Laver, J. (1994). Principles of phonetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.